Desperate Times Desperate Measures
by FFFfanfictionfanatic
Summary: With the 4th Great Shinobi War brewing, all allied shinobi forces must group together to eliminate the threat. What do the enemy want? Who are they? How will our heros defeat them? R&R
1. Chapter 1

**I will only continue this if it gets enough reviews. I know how it will end and where it is headed because i have had this in my head for a while, but i do have other fics that i am writting, so this one wont take priority if there arent enought people requesting it.  
>Also... OMG This is the first ever fight scene i have EVER written! XD<br>Please be kind, hopefully it will get better :)**

**Also, really important.  
>I know in the manga is says that there is already a 4th shinobi war happening, but for the sake of this fanfic, lets say that what is happening in the manga is a few years in the future and that what is happening now in this fanfic is seriously what is happening now. So that means that all the awesome characters that they killed off in the manga and anime are here, alive and kicking ;)<strong>

**Hope that clears that up :)  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Oneesan! Oneesan!" Panting, the small boy raced after his older sister as she skipped further and further into the forest.  
>Turning mid-skip his older sister smiled, "You'll have to catch up otouto." And she turned back to her path, continuing through the forest.<p>

As the small boy stumbled to his feet, after finally reaching his sister who sat waiting at a tree several minutes later, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oneesan, why did you run off like that?" The boy grumbled after regaining his composure. His sister looked down at her younger brother and frowned slightly; his lack of enthusiasm for their run took the fun out of it all.  
>"To train Mitsuki." The woman pushed off of the tree and walked confidently over to her brother placing an encouraging hand on his head and ruffling his spikey brown hair, "the only reason you didn't enjoy that run was because you lack the stamina. Therefore, I am going to train you so you can become bigger and stronger. Then we can spar as equals."<p>

The boy's eyebrow rose in shock and frustration at his sister's outburst and when she raised her fist to show her eagerness, the boy shook his head. "Oneesan, we are eight years apart. I am a genin, not a skilled jounin like you." The boy whined.  
>Although the girl was twenty, she didn't act anything like her age. She acted more like a genin that her younger brother did.<br>Mitsuki grumbled and turned for the village. He wasn't going to over exert himself for his sister's satisfaction.

Suddenly when he reached a few paces away, he turned around to see that his sister was running towards him at full speed, arms outstretched and a fierce expression on her face. "Mitsuki! Watch out!"

Just as his sister pulled him to the ground, Mitsuki felt a sharp sting at the back of his neck. Reaching to pull it out, Mitsuki recognized the foreign object instantly from his training at the academy; a senbon.  
>"S-Sister…W-What, is, this?" Mitsuki strained to voice his concerns has his sister placed him next to a tree and pulled her kunai out of her weapons pouch, ready for a fight.<br>Glancing around, surveying the area for any sign of the enemy, Suzuki let out a frustrated growl and turned to her younger brother. A thin layer of sweat had begun to form on Mitsuki's brow and his eyes began to feel heavy and close.  
>Grabbing the collar of Mitsuki's green jumper, Suzuki pulled her brother closer to her, in an attempt to check his neck. Protruding from her little brothers neck was a thin needle soaked in some liquid.<p>

"Whoever you are, show yourself now." Suzuki barked at the shadows the trees cast throughout the forest. A tall man adorned with weapons of nearly every kind and a dark ninja jumpsuit protected by a thick armor, emerged from the shadows; an evil smirk plastered across his scarred, but otherwise clean face.

"Tell me. Did you poison my little brother?" Suzuki hissed at the man, silently promising a slow and painful death to the man.  
>"Hmph, killing your brother would be rather foolish of me now wouldn't it? I mean, we need him."<br>Suzuki turned back to her brother, _'he must have been darted with some kind of sedative then… Good._'

"Wait, what do you mean? What do you need Mitsuki for?" Suzuki's voice was creeping higher and higher as she held Mitsuki closer to her, raising her kunai in the air defensively.

To her surprise, the man began chuckling at her!  
><em>'Tsk. What's so funny?'<em> Suzuki thought to herself, temper almost reaching its boiling point.

"Sorry sweetheart. That's on a need to know basis." And the man came charging full speed towards Suzuki and Mitsuki.

Pulling a kunai out of his weapons pouch, the man lunged at Suzuki's throat. Barely missing the attack, Suzuki side rolled away from the man pressing Mitsuki tightly to her chest. The man's kunai slashing the tree Suzuki had been at, seconds after she moved.  
>"Tsk." Suzuki wiped the thin layer of sweat off her brow before fastening her grip on her own kunai and standing to her feet, "that was too close."<p>

The man lunged at Suzuki again, swiping his kunai at her throat again and again. _'He appears to only be going for my vitals. He wants to make this quick.' _Suzuki thought to herself as she side stepped quickly in a zigzag movement, every time the man tried to slash at her with his kunai.  
>None of his attempts to slash her though worked, the man back flipped several paces away from his target and threw his kunai in her direction.<br>_Clink_ Suzuki knocked the kunai away from her and Mitsuki, and just barely dodged the three shuriken hurling towards her, hidden behind the kunai attack.  
>Taking the offensive, Suzuki launched herself into the air, landing on a large tree branch and threw two paper bombs within 30 cm to one meter of the man and signalled for them to explode. Taking the fleeting moment of distraction to her advantage, Suzuki hopped several trees away, heading back to the village.<br>Mitsuki needed to get to safety…and his heavy body was beginning to feel like a burden on Suzuki as she fought.

Almost out of the forest Suzuki quickly glanced down at her brother, who was sound asleep. "Tsk….What? Wait, how did he survive that? That is definitely that bastards chakra I can sense approaching…" Suzuki's fierce expression deepened and she made it through the clearing of the forest.

Her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she saw the most horrific sight before her eyes.

The small village was under attack. The small houses were ablaze and the cries of civilians could be heard as they raced frantically around the village to the cover of the forest.  
>Anybody able to fight held some variation of a weapon in their hand as they fought off their attackers who were slaying every moving body in their sight.<br>"N-no.." Suzuki gasped, clutching her kunai tighter in her hand and holding Mitsuki in an even tighter embrace.  
>To her astonishment, every man woman and child were being slain mercilessly, however, whenever a shinobi chunin level or lower was sighted, they were darted and thrown into a cart that appeared to have been stolen from one of the farmers.<p>

Sensing the man's chakra behind her, Suzuki let out a harsh snarl. "What is the meaning of this?"

Turning to face her attacker, determination and the intent to kill clearly written on her face. The wind from the growing fire blew at Suzuki's waist length mellow orange hair as the reflection of the fire's flames danced across her face, darkening her fierce features and the shadows on her face.  
>Placing Mitsuki on the tree branch below her, Suzuki turned to her opponent and sprang from her branch she was perched on to meet him in mid-air; clashing with their kunai and pushing off one another, landing on trees adjacent one another.<br>Taking a breath, Suzuki and the man sprang from the trees and clashed again. They repeated this two more times, in which times, Suzuki planted small exploding pouches on her opponent's clothing, leaving him unaware.  
>Launching off their trees one last time, they clashed again, however, as they were moving away from one another and as Suzuki was making the hand seal to detonate the bombs, the opponent caught wind of her movement and before she knew it strong hands were holding both sides of her face and she was flying over his head and plummeting towards the hard forest floor.<p>

The bombs didn't go off. Sharp jabs of pain coursed through her body, originating from her chest and abdomen.  
><em>'Tsk, must've broken a rib.' <em>Suzuki thought to herself.  
>Forcing herself to her feet, Suzuki pulled out another kunai from her weapons pouch and looked up to the forest roof to find where her opponent had gone.<br>Eyes widened and her grimace twitched as she saw the man approaching the unconscious Mitsuki and she threw her kunai at the man's head to discourage him from going any closer to her brother.  
>She missed him.<br>Taking a step forward, Suzuki discovered her ankle had been injured from the fall when she fell face first to the ground.  
>Looking back to her ankle, Suzuki growled in frustration and turned back to the man just as he pulled Mitsuki into his arms.<br>"Wait! Don't you dare take my little brother!" Suzuki roared at the man but gasped when he turned to face her with a smirk on his face.  
>Realisation struck her, "N-No way…" Her eyes widening, Suzuki saw the great distance between her and her opponent. A slight crackling sound crept into Suzuki's ears and she frantically searched for its source with her eyes once she realised what the sound was.<p>

A bomb.

There wasn't enough time. So just as Suzuki spotted the three small exploding pouches she had planted on her opponent, fastened loosely to her own clothing…  
><em>'Tsk. He's good.'<em> Suzuki growled inwardly, glaring daggers up at her opponent, seconds before the bombs times were up.

The explosion echoed throughout the forest, and would have alerted the villages had they not been dead or dying, lying in their own pools of blood several meters away from Suzuki's battle; the village burning down to the ground. The enemy already gone.

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><p>The council members sat around the round table in the Wind country's Sunagakure council room; loudly deliberating over the recent happenings in the lands surrounding them.<br>"It has gotten out of hand. It must end now." One council member protested loudly on one side of the room.  
>Across the other side, another council member stood and pointed an accusing finger at the person who just objected. "Well what do you suppose we do? None of those attacks have affected our village personally. We do not have the resources or the shinobi to jump into some foreign clan's disputes. Why not contact Konoha?"<br>There were small murmurs of agreement that could be heard throughout the council room, resulting in the 2nd council member to nod his head, content with his followers and his statement; he sat down at his seat without another word.

The first council member frowned but said no further, instead sitting down and turning his gaze to his lap as he folded his arms across his chest.  
>There was silence in the room, until Baki spoke, "Lord Kazekage, what is your opinion on this. You have failed to mention anything as of yet."<p>

All eyes turned to the Kazekage who was eyeing his eyelids intently, trying his best to ignore the bickering between his council members. Slowly- to the irritation of the council members- he opened his eyes and gazed uncaringly around the room at his fellow council members.

"Inform the Leaf Village of the recent attacks and keep communications with them open. Unless there is clear evidence on who orchestrated the attacks and why they attacked those villages, there is nothing we can do. Gather more information and report back to me in the next meeting."

"But Lord Kezekage. Looking at the maps, it appears that most small villages have been attacked and the enemy is moving increasingly closer to Sunagakure." An intel council member informed the Kazekage.

"As I stated before; there are not many options for us right now. We are short staffed and unless one of our allies or our own village is attacked, then we are not obliged to do anything. However, I am aware that the enemy is moving closure to Sunagakure, so ensure that the village defences are secure and tight. That is all. I wish there was more we could do."  
>Standing, the Kazekage exited the room, leaving the council members to gather their paperwork and exit themselves.<p>

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><p><strong>There you have it. The first chapter. Hope you enoyed it. Review it and tell me what you thought of it. All opinions matter because if there arent enough reviews i wont continue.<strong>

**I hope it didnt seem that i copied anyone. I honestly thought of this myself and i appologise if it sounds like someone elses story.**

**Anyway... ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I know i said that i wasnt going to continue if there werent any reviews. But i really want to get a few more chapters up and see what you all think. I dont know if there are many Naruto fanfiction fans but so i dont really mind or take it personally that no one is reviewing this story. I like it ;P**

**So here is the next chapter. It would be good if you could review so i can clear up any isues that you may have or things that you may be unsure of. :) Thanks, and enjoy.**

**Chapter 2**

"W-Why?... You-You gutted our village…stole our children…Why?" The man staggered. The fatal wound inflicted on his chest has erupted a whole chain of organ failures inside the mans body; blood- a sure sign of internal bleeding- had begun to seep through the mans mouth, out of the corner of his mouth.

'_You're annoying me. Why aren't you dead yet?'_ The man who attacked the wounded man's village grumbled, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, "you people are no fun. Every village we go to, every person we kill, ask the same questions…" the man made a mocking sigh to the man on the ground, but chuckled when the man coughed up a small amount of blood.

Turning to his companion who was loading children onto a small cart, the man pouted, "Dude, this guy is annoying. He won't die."

"S-St-Stop m-mocking me!" The man yelled through coughing blood. Village destroyed, comrades fallen, the man made one last attempt at eliminating the enemy. His one last act as a shinobi warrior. Throwing his kunai at his enemy while his back was turned, he closed his eyes. He knew deep down that he didn't get him, but he wanted to die with something to smile about, believing that his last attempt to make his comrades deaths mean something had succeeded.

A severe pain erupted through his body, quickly subsided by a mind numbing tingling; and all things went dark.

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><p>"What do you mean another village was attacked!" Tsunade yelled, slamming her hands on her desk, ignoring its cries. "What intel do you have on the attackers?"<p>

Shizune began to fumble with the vast paperwork piled in her arms, "well m'lady, the intelligence corps have been speculating that the attackers are an enemy clan that has been inactive for nearly a century. An old and powerful clan that caused quite the problem back in the day. They supposedly originated from Mizu no Kuni but refused to be under the rules of Kirigrakure. They were known as the Arashi clan. But the intelligence corps are only making that clan a possibility. We are currently sending word to the Mizukage to determine the status of the clan. But, I am afraid that is all the suspects we have. M'Lady."

Sitting down quietly, Tsunade leaned her elbows on her desk, entwining her fingers and resting her chin on her hands; deep in thought. "So the only lead we have is a clan that is supposed to be dead…"

Shizune sighed, it sounded more hopeless when it was put that way. "Pretty much, m'Lady…"

Tsunade sighed this time, "what has Sunagakure said about this situation."

Flipping through her notes, Shizune found a document and handed it to the Hokage. "The Sand Village has expressed deep concern over reports of missing sand Shinobi. Also it appears that the enemy is headed to the Sand Village. They wish for us to send shinobi over there to aid them, as they are short staffed."

Frowning, Tsunade grabbed another document and scanned over it before letting out a moan. "You'll never guess which one's not on any missions right now…" Glancing up to Shizune irritatedly, Tsunade handed her subordinate the document.

_Gulp_ Shizune couldn't help but fret over the only personnel available for the high priority mission; she read it out loud.  
>"Uzumaki, Naruto…. Hyuuga, Hinata…. Yamanaka, Ino…. And Inuzuka, Kiba…." Looking up at the Hokage, Shizune handed the paper back. "Should we send them anyway Lady Tsunade?"<p>

"Well of course we are going to send them. The Sand has asked for assistance and they are all we have right now. Just send a message with them expressing our apologies and inform them that we will send back up as soon as they return from missions." Standing from her desk, Tsunade glided to her door, "now, if you'll excuse me, I need saki."

Sighing again, Shizune gathered her papers again and made a neat pile on the Hokage's desk.

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><p>"Yes! Oh, yes! This is great!" He couldn't contain his excitement any longer. "This is it! The moment I have been waiting for." Naruto all but giggled the last part.<br>The others could only slap their foreheads in embarrassment as they stood at the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, waiting for their last team member to appear. Naruto was excitedly bouncing on the spot he was standing on, occasionally adjusting his headband proudly.

"Yes, well Naruto….This mission is important. High priority in fact. So please don't screw it up..." _'Or else I will skin you alive…'_ Tsunade smile to herself at the last part.

Grinning slyly Naruto turned to Tsunade and held a hand to the side of his face in a fake whisper, "psst, Granny Tsunade… Why are you smiling like that? Thinking of Pervy Sage are ya?"

A vein twitched on Tsunade's forehead, but before she could send Naruto flying, she noticed he was already beaten to the ground with his team mates rubbing their hands indignantly.

Finally their last member had shown. Running towards the gates, Hinata Hyuuga frantically caught up to her teammates who, upon seeing her, began walking already; the sooner they could get walking the better, it was a two day trip to Sunagakure maximum.  
>Racing past her Hokage, Hinata chimed, "see you later Hokage-Sama." And she trotted past a still beaten Naruto.<br>It was only when they were a good distance away from him did Naruto finally gather the strength to chase after them. Earning himself another smack across his head from Ino for being slow.

They had been gone for a few minutes now, however, Tsunade couldn't find the strength to move. Something was wrong, and she had this uneasy feeling.

"Shizune," Tsunade spoke so low Shizune almost missed it.

"Yes m'Lady?" Shizune turned to the Hokage, gaze concerned.

"Shizune, I am not usually a superstitious person, but… Ah-It's nothing; inform the Kazegake that we have deployed the team and that we will send word when we have a back-up team assembled.

"…Yes, Lady Tsunade…"

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><p>"Deidara Senpai…" Tobi asked uneasily as he looked to Deidara.<p>

Grumbling inwardly from annoyance, Deidara continued walking; they couldn't afford to stop…not just yet. "What is it Tobi?"

Noticing he was lagging behind, Tobi jogged up to Deidara and leaned slightly closer to his senpai, resulting in Deidara's eyes to fly open in alarm, but before he could protest, Tobi spoke. "Senpai, have you noticed they have been following us for a while?"

Deidara tensed. He had noticed their pursuers had been following them for several days now, and he was on edge. Their pursuers had made no attempt to cover up their presence and were making it so painfully obvious that they were following the two Akatsuki, that it made Deidara worry whether or not the people following them were either really powerful…or incredibly stupid.  
>"Yes, Tobi. Even an academy student would notice that group following us, un."<p>

Tobi shifted uncomfortably, "well what do we do about them?"

Deidara looked to the sky. It was almost nightfall and there wasn't much he could do. If those people were powerful, he couldn't afford a fight; not after getting out of a serious fight only a day ago. Both his and Tobi's wounds were still fresh and initiating a fight between this group would be bad.  
>"We are going to camp here for the night. All we can do is go back to the base and hope that they stop following us. Your injuries are much worse than mine, and I really don't feel like dragging your sorry carcass back to base and explain to leader why we didn't stop to rest, un."<p>

Tobi once again emitted that irritating giggle of his, and continued walking.  
>But Deidara was right. The battle they had fought only a day before had left them vulnerable. Deidara has several cuts and bruises, accompanied by a gash across his back that had required immediate stitches to prevent any more blood loss. However, Tobi is lucky he can move. He had been careless and jumped into the fight first, thinking he could take them all on. He had underestimated them: and worse, he had assumed Deidara would just willingly jump in after him.<br>With several broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and even more deep gashes and bruises than Deidara, the only reason Tobi has been able to walk this far is because of a jutsu Deidara put on him that gives him the illusion that he is healthy; like the ninja morphine.  
>But it's only temporary.<p>

Reaching the hideout had been an easy enough task, however, explaining himself to Leader-sama would be entirely different. He had better start praying that Leader-sama was in a good mood.

One of the other pairs in Akatsuki had successfully completed their assignment and had captured their assigned jinchuuriki. The extraction was scheduled for later that day.  
>In order to extract the bijuu, each Akatsuki member have to use a portion of their chakra in replacement of themselves while their real bodies are at a location other than the hideout. I pretty smart idea actually.<br>However, after their fight, Deidara and Tobi lack the chakra to perform that jutsu: so in that case, they had to be there in person.

As they entered the base all eyes cast on them making them shift unconfortable.

"Deidara," Leader's chakra-self spoke first, "explain."

Deidara fidgeted with his fingers slightly, a habit he had picked up from being around Tobi whenever he was punished for something. "Well, we ran into trouble." Deidara looked up at the other members sheepishly.

Zetsu spoke up next, "Leader-sama, it seems that Tobi and Deidara led the enemy straight to us."

A fierce gaze from Leader forced Deidara to turn away. It was true, they did lead the enemy right to the base, but there was no other option: they couldn't shake them no matter what they tried.  
>Glancing around the room, Deidara searched for the jinchuuriki: it wasn't there.<p>

Gazing up at Hidan Deidara spoke, "hey, I thought you got the jinchuuriki. Where is it?" There was silence, "Don't tell me you already extracted it, un."

There was more silence, until Hidan grumbled something incomprehensible.

"We all ran into a new enemy." Leader spoke again. "We were beginning to think that you and Tobi had died." Leader chuckled darkly, "Hidan and Kakazu did have the jinchuuriki, however, the enemy separated them from it and it got away."

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Deidara asked.

Leader turned to the group, "who's bodies are closest to the hideout?"

"Ours are only three minutes away." Said Itachi.

"Good. Leave now and bring them back here. You and Kisame are to assist Deidara and Tobi in discovering who their pursuers are. Everyone else: there is no further need for this meeting. Kakazu, Hidan, you two continue in your search for that jinchuuriki and inform me when you succeed in capturing it. As for the new enemy, be cautious. Find out why they attacked us and report back to me. Don't initiate a fight between them. That is all." And leader and Konan's chakra dispersed along with Itachi and Kisame's. The others said a few words to Deidara and Tobi before they too disappeared.

Tobi and Deidara waited patiently inside the hideout for Itachi and Kisame to appear. Their meeting with their pursuers was about to go underway.

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><p><strong>Sorry it was so short. I hope the next chapter is going to be longer. Remember to review! :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, chapter 3! :D  
>So far only one person has reviewed my story, but i dont really mind. I would like more people to review, but i am going to thank that person who reviewed. <strong>

**Thank you very much Yuti-Chan for your reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter too :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"Wait! Kisame no Dono! Don't!" Deidara called after Kisame as he lunged, sword drawn, at their pursuers. Kisame paused, sword held high above his head, and let out a growl from frustration. Itachi stood dead still beside Deidara, eyes blazing crimson as he eyed the group stepping out of the shadows of the forest.

Deidara stared at the group in shock and he barely heard Kisame growl back at him. "Deidara, do you know them?"  
>Shuffling of boots and the clanking of armour as it made contact with metal could be heard as the group gradually came closer and closer to the Akatsuki. As the light shone through the leaves of the trees onto te approaching group, Deidara immediately recognised them.<br>First to be clearly seen were three men sporting protective armour chest plates and armour flaps to cover their lower anatomy. They all carried large spears and a blank expression on their faces.  
>Stepping further out into the light, the Akatsuki could see three more people at the back of the group with the same armour and spears: on each side of the group was two servant women in elegant baby blue robes, holding large wooden flag poles that clearly identified their country of origin with a majestic logo of a river on it.<br>The clatter of royal hooves on the dirt road brought the Akatsuki's attention to the final member of the pursuers' party. A beautiful blonde woman sat back straight and elegant on the back of her thoroughbred white military horse. Also wearing baby blue robes, however, they were obviously better quality, with beads embroidered into different patterns around the robe.  
>Unfortunately her face was hidden by a dark shadow from her large straw hat that had robe and beads dangling from its brim.<p>

However, Deidara didn't need the woman's face to recognise who she was. Standing tall from his original fighting stance, Deidara smirked. "Well, well, well… Lady Kotone…" Deidara's eyes narrowed, "to what do we owe the pleasure."

Itachi and Kisame turned to Deidara and when he wasn't answering their questioning glares, turned back to the party.

The lady-Kotone- smirked and placed a slender hand to the brim of her hat, pulling it further down slightly.  
>There was silence between the two parties. Nervously, one of the men from Lady Kotone's party stepped forward and held an official looking scroll in his hand and began to read.<p>

Deidara's eyes narrowed further from annoyance as the man read, "L-Lord Deidara," Deidara shot a menacing glare at the man reading, resulting in the man growing silent and turning to the Lady.

"Lord Deidara?" Kisame all but shouted, stunned and turning to Deidara. Deidara ignored him and glared up at Kotone.

"Kotone, what the hell do you want, un?" Deidara barked, waving his hand questioningly.

Suddenly all the servants grew a shocked expression on their faces and mumbled to one another. The man who had originally started talking stomped his foot and pointed an accusing finger at Deidara. ""Y-You! You will address the river countries Daimyou as _Lady_ Kotone!" One of the servant women gasped and raised her hand to her mouth in shock just as Lady Kotone pulled her hat from her head and slapped her servant across his head with it: frown marring her beautiful face.

The Daimyou's golden hair was let down to her waist and her long fringe was pinned back by wooden pins.

She wore a sorrowful expression, made by her full, glossy pink lips which was curved downward and her bright blue eyes pleadingly looked down to Deidara: making his demeanor relax.

Deidara ignored what the servant ordered and continued, "Last time we saw one another, your father wanted me dead, correct?"  
>Kotone's expression saddened further.<p>

Sighing, Deidara turned his gaze to the ground, "fine, tell me what you want…"

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><p>"Lord Kazekage, I am afraid that this has gone one long enough." One council member objected in the middle of the meeting: warranting a few distant murmurs from agreement. "My Lord, we were short staffed as it were, but now all our shinobi are attacked when they leave on a mission. This cant continue."<p>

The Kazekage frowned. Council meetings were definitely not on his list of things he enjoyed. Actually, he really just wanted it to be over so he could spend more time with his friends. Allied shinobi had travelled all the way from Konoha by the request of the council members, however, when Naruto, Ino, Hinata and Kiba had arrived the Kazekage had been inwardly relieved at his friends arrival. They were much better than a couple of stiffs.

"Send word to the Hokage that we are unable to complete missions due to the recent attacks by our new enemy. Strengthen the security as much as you can, and as of now there is an 8:00 pm curfew for the civilians and lower ranking shinobi of this village. If the village was invaded, I don't want innocent blood to be spilled because there wasn't enough protection set in place."

Concluding their meeting, the Kazekage exited the room. It was true that the situation was dire; however, there was not anything the Kazekage could do. Unless there was a large threat, then he would have to deal with it using what he has.

"Sakura chaaaan!" Naruto called out to the pink haired girl as she entered the Sunagakure gates. The kunoichi rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand in frustration and a vain attempt to block out Naruto's voice. Huge grin on his face, the knucklehead ran out to his comrades happy to see them after a long week being at Sunagakure.

The new group of Konoha shinobi looked at Naruto as he tripped and fell meters in front of them and they continued to walk to the Kazekage's office.

"Hyuuga Neji, Haruno Sakura and Aburame Shino, thank you for coming. I have had a spare room next to Naruto and Kiba's room prepared for Neji and Shino: and for you Sakura, there is a spare bed prepared for you in Ino Yamanaka's room."  
>"Hai." They all said in unison.<p>

"Oh, but before you leave…Sakura, you are needed in the hospital with Ino: we have several civilians and high ranking shinobi that need assistance. The medical core will inform you of anything." Gaara turned to Neji and Shino. "And you two, you both are to be stationed at the gates as scouts. Somehow the enemy has been getting in here and abducting chunin and lower ranking shinobi so I need you both to keep an eye open for anything or anyone suspicious."

"Hai." They said again and left quietly to their rooms. Their mission in the sand was just about to begin.

Later at the hospital Sakura was beginning to feel the effects of being Tsunade's pupil as she was bombarded with patients with ailments of every kind: and to make it worse, on top of healing as many shinobi and civilians as she could, Sakura and Ino were also investigating the recent abductions by gathering statements from the people she healed.

Although she would never admit it, Sakura had hoped to catch up with Ino. The two of them used to be close and she wanted to talk with her and relax from all the stresses they have to face now that they have been recruited for the Sunagakure hospital.

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><p>"Sakura, are you ok?" Ino asked, standing from her bed to walk over to Sakura and place a hand on her shoulder. Sakura looked up from the book she was reading, "Its just…you seem to be spacing out a lot lately."<p>

Sakura looked up to Ino, "Really?... How long have we been here again?" she asked. Ino frowned and retracted her hand from her friend.

"Geez Sakura, you have been out of it. We have been here for three days now." Ino sighed and returned to her bed. It was almost nightfall and the two kunoichi had retreated to their rooms to further investigate the situations.  
>"Oh…" Sakura turned back to her book and glanced over one of the pages. Their lack of sleep was evident from the dark bags under both girl's eyes, but neither stopped looking. The situation in the hospital has only gotten worse: patients are either dying or more are coming in sick and injured. "Ino…"<p>

"Hmm?" Ino turned to Sakura.

"Ino, you know how we have figured out that the enemy uses some kind of poison right?"  
>"Yeah..?"<p>

"Well, I was just thinking. It doesn't matter what herbs or medicines we use the people still die."

"Yeah we know that already Sakura."

"Yeah…I was just thinking that…well maybe the enemy is controlling something in the poison through genjutsu. It sounds crazy…" Sakura mumbled and began to apologise and turn back to the book she was reading.

Ino thought about what Sakura said for a moment, "actually, that would explain why the poison can't be cured no matter what we do…Do you have any notes on any jutsu or clans that can do stuff like that?" Ino asked, disregarding her book as she rummaged through some others.

Sakura looked up from her book again and handed it to Ino, "Well this book is what actually gave me that idea. I was looking at some clan histories and there was this particular clan who had a reputation for their lethal poisons…" She paused as the waited for Ino to catch up. As Ino skimmed through the pages Sakura continued, "It looks like they weren't very strong fighters, but they were said to have the most potent poisons in the land. There doesn't appear to be many survivors is any at all."

"Yeah, but it also says that they were wiped out nearly a century ago." Ino frowned in disappointment.

Sakura forced a smile on her face to cheer up her friend, "well, its something at least."

* * *

><p><strong>Ok that was annoying, wouldnt let me put those little asterisks where i usually use them for the time skip things. Instead i had to put the pagebreak thing. Sorry :(<strong>

**Well there you go. Another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it :)  
>Hopefully it will get more interesting as i go along. There will be more (and hopefully better) fight scenes but i just realised that this fanfic is going to have a lot of investigating and talking and stuff. Hope you guys are still ok with that :)<strong>

**Anyway, i will try to update as soon as possible :)**

**Tell me what you think of it so far :)**


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